Developer proposes mixed-use project next to SouthPark mall

Florida-based developer ZOM on Thursday announced a $78 million project to be built next to SouthPark mall on Barclay Downs Drive, in front of Reid’s Fine Foods and McCormick & Schmick’s.

The proposed six-story development, to be called Hazel SouthPark, could accommodate up to 266 residential units and 15,000 square feet of retail. An office building at the site since 1987 would be razed to make way for the project.

ZOM has filed for the rezoning of the site from office space to mixed-use development. A public hearing on the rezoning is expected in November.

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This project has been proposed at a time of a major development boom in SouthPark. About 2,400 new apartments, office towers and mixed-use projects are being built in the area. In 1995, about 30,000 people worked in SouthPark. Now the number has more than doubled to nearly 70,000 people.

This flurry of development has also highlighted problems in SouthPark – huge increases in traffic and inadequate infrastructure. For example, a plan unveiled by Synco properties aims to redevelop the Colony apartment complex into 990 new apartments, which would increase traffic more than threefold in the area.

Some proposed redevelopment aims to create mixed-use areas, with office space and retail where residents can potentially walk to shop or to work. This might help offset some of the traffic increase.

The city commissioned a study earlier this year to locate problems and explore ways to turn SouthPark from a car-centric suburban community to a walkable dense urban district.

The area around SouthPark mall itself has recently seen a lot of development. The City Council recently approved a rezoning request for Sharon United Methodist church, known for its distinctive “ski slope,” to be redeveloped into a new project with nearly 500 residential units. The plan also includes a hotel, up to 170,000 square feet of commercial space and a fitness facility. The church would remain at the center of the new development. The area is less than a mile from the proposed ZOM project site.

In May, a developer filed a rezoning request for a 5.25-acre site less than half a mile away from the ZOM project site on Piedmont Row Drive for 400 multifamily residences. The site also would have office space and space for shops and restaurants.

ZOM is a 39-year-old multifamily developer based in Orlando. This is the first project for the developer in the Carolinas.

“We see great opportunity in the Carolinas, which is why we chose to open a new office here,” said Greg West, ZOM’s chief development officer.

ZOM has developed similar projects in other urban markets, including Arlington, Va.; Orlando, Fla.; and Houston. It has projects underway in cities such as Miami, Tampa and Baltimore, according to the developer’s website.

The SouthPark project will have one-, two- and three-bedroom units, ranging from 980 to 2,375 square feet. Some of the highlighted features are gourmet kitchens, separate dining areas, spacious closets, built-in cabinetry and private balconies.

The project would include amenities such as a pool deck, fitness center, entertainment kitchen and lounge, the developer said.